Krazy Couponing Galore!

If you paid attention on facebook, I recently bragged about some serious savings with coupons as of late.  Matt and I finally decided we needed to do something about our grocery budget (and eating out all the time, and running out all the time to pick up something for dinner... etc).  So we started to research couponing.
We are by no means experts!  I just want to point out who the experts are.  First, I'm not the original Krazy Coupon Lady!  No, she's here.  What can you glean from her website?  Well, for starters they've got great advice for beginners.  AND they have a very neat print out to organize your binder for coupons, should you want to make one, like I did.  Get some sheet protectors and baseball card holders and you're set!
My binder is organized by category.  For someone like me (the way my brain works) I simply need to see the category and products instead of searching and remembering.  I have a bit of a photographic memory, so I'll go crazy if I store pages by date because I'll always see some page in my head but not remember it was from three months ago and has long been expired and thrown away.
Next start building that stash of coupons!  Remember, you're not necessarily buying everything you clip or print.  No.  You're waiting, hoping for a sale to pop up in the next month (or if it's dog food, you're thankful for anything, per Wally).  How do you know it's a good price?  Well, Krazy Coupon Lady ALSO has a helpful handout telling you prices on average for a 3 month and 6 month stock up price.  So we use that as our guide.  For instance, we'll never pay a cent for toothpaste again! That was our first coupon success--those of you local, you'll wonder where all those 10/$10 toothpastes went?  In our stockpile!  For free!
Then you need to learn your stores and start slow.  We've discovered that shopping at Wal-Mart sucks for couponing, so we usually don't go unless there is a specified good deal (oh... those Idahoian potatoes you can't find on the shelf?  They're in our kitchen).  We've specifically selected Gerbes (for their awesome savings for being a member--a card that gives discounts, loads digital coupons, and has an ap where we can check in store if we HAVE that coupon, or add it if we don't).  I've also tested the water with Walgreens.  Their register rewards can be complicated.  You have to learn how to split transactions (I successfully did this, but if I'd split it one more time, I'd have walked away with a free purchase... instead I walked away with $7 in register rewards I plan on using next week).  Not all stores are great.  We've also been hitting local stores' websites and finding amazing deals, but they wouldn't be our every day sales (hello Eggo Waffles!  Get in my freezer!)
I've not gotten so extreme yet to dumpster dive for additional coupons (I'm tempted, but so short in stature).  Right now we're starting off slow and getting between 3-5 copies of the coupon inserts in the weekly paper.  Of course, I kind of wish for the toothpaste we'd have had billions. 
But I've successfully managed to stockpile a lot of things in a short amount of time!  Our goal is in a few months to lay off "essentials" totally, unless they're free or close to it.  That way we can focus on food for the family.  Except instant potatoes.  Thank goodness those don't go bad!
I'm happy that we're doing something about our finances that is at least interesting (and it helps me on my math skills... which is crazy, because man... my math skills stink!).  But we can also do it together.  Plot out shopping trips, teach each other math.... go shopping together, organize and clip coupons together.  It's kind of fun.  For instance right now we're making sure we got all the maximum coupons for a couple of awesome deals we found--Eggo Waffles, Pillsbury biscuits, hand soap, and salad dressing.  Thanks to our couponing skills, we even bought Puffs tissues (I never have kleenex-ish type stuff here... it's a waste, use the toilet paper) at a dirt cheap price.  Oh, that's another thing Krazy Coupon Lady has to offer--a comprehensive lists of when things go on sale annually.  Although it's no shock to many that coupons and sales on Puffs and Kleenex are in effect for back-to-school shopping, since most of my students never bring me any from their lists, I kind of forgot about that.
So am I going to be on that Extreme Couponing show?  Probably not.  Unless it's just me buying a shit-ton of toothpaste.  For free.  Because I've learned if you coupon, you should never pay for toothpaste.  But I seriously recommend checking into the KCL and all the advice on online couponing sites.  Great savings are just ahead, folks!  (Oh yeah, best tip ever?  I'm absolutely addicted to watching YouTube clips of the KCL shopping and showing how to do stuff.  I've been trying to limit myself on how many clips I watch a day, so I can stretch it out and enjoy them even longer).
Now, get to clipping!